Marino's Heir

Chapter 28

Cleo looked at her lover's picture in front of her in disbelief. Her heart dropped the moment her father said those words.

"He's your first target."

She clenched her fists nervously. Then, cleared her throat, collecting her thoughts and what she would say. "Who is Marco Gallon?" She asked, then looked at him confidently. His dark, sharp eyes looked at her carefully. He took a sip from the glass of wine and then said. "Let's have a walk." He opened the door and left. She stood up, ready to follow him. She looked at Marco's picture one last time. "Oh god..." She turned to leave. Whispering to herself, "Please don't let me harm him. Please keep him safe. Please..." She followed her father nervously and scared. Wondering what type of walk that would be.

They walked out of the warehouse till they reached a car. "Get in."

She obeyed his orders and got inside the car. Surprisingly, he took the wheel and drove. About five minutes, he stopped at a small house that was surrounded by a farm. They walked till he waved with his hand and a door opened. She followed him and heard the sound of a horse.

"Come here." He said, then went to a dark black horse reaching for it. "This is Roo... She is the only thing left from your mother." Cleo's tense body calmed down. She sighed softly as his facial expression changed when he started talking about her mother. This is the first time he has shown emotion. Sadness...

"Roo was our connection." He smiled. "She almost killed me with it." He opened the door for Roo and pulled her out. "I was running and saw the farm; I needed to eat. And as I was running, I didn't notice her riding the horse around. We were sixteen years old. She almost stepped on me." He continued as they walked. The horse in between them.

"When I saw her. The world felt better. Everything around me was different. She shined my damned life and gave me a reason to have hope, to not struggle and accept everything; in return, I get to see her every day, to not kill myself."

"What happened to her...?" Cleo asked hesitantly.

"She left me. We grew far from each other till fate connected us again..." He stopped walking, looking at the sky. "And I wish it didn't." He left the horse, and someone came to take it away. "Why? Did you not love her?" He scoffed at her question. He looked at the sky as they walked. "I did, and it was what killed me, not that horse. I wish she had stepped on me that day and never let me fall deeper for her." He spoke. She listened, waiting carefully, to know more about them. About the mother she never met. He looked at Cleo.

"You remind me of her. When you got born. It was the second happiest thing that brightened my life." She stopped walking. Looking at him in disbelief. "What?" Then why does he despise her now? Many questions surrounded her mind at that moment.

"I held you in my arms for three years. Your little giggle made every night bearable. It gave me a reason to rush back home. To stay alive. To kill. Anyone and any creature in this world to protect you. Including your mother..." She nodded her head, not believing him. Her eyes held tears as her breath fastened. "What?" was all she could say to him.

"When I saw your mother again after years, Cleo. It was too late. She played me, she had me rapped around her finger and godamn I loved her. Even if her love to me was only for her own good, to get a promotion." He looked away as anger started to fill his mind.

"Promotion?!" She asked. "She was... an FBI agent." Cleo put her hands on her mouth in disbelief. No wonder he killed her. She turned her back to him. Connecting the dots but still so many unanswered questions made it unclear. "I married her, and we were happy for about five years... I trusted her, and I gave in. I showed her my weakness, and she took it all against me. Breaking all her vows and every piece of my heart. But she didn't deny that also, you were her happiness." She turned to him again, listening to him. He started walking so she followed him, asking.